Businesses are constantly looking for ways to get work done better, faster, and more efficiently. Because time is money, it’s important that businesses periodically evaluate their current workflow and business processes.
Business processes are the set of interrelated tasks linked to a job function that span departmental boundaries. They are a series of individual tasks performed in a specific order that has a starting point and ending point and are repeatable. For, example when a vendor sells to a customer, there are usually several processes that take place; including offering available inventory, sending a price quote, receiving a purchase request, processing payment, and acknowledging the sale with a receipt.
The business process outlined above is a simplified example of a single process many businesses perform every day, yet it involves people from several departments, including sales, accounting, and shipping. The problem is that business owners rarely evaluate the effectiveness of a particular business process by asking whether this process could be simplified or automated. Or, when they do decide to make process changes, they are often executed without a clear vision or effective leadership.